The 10 Most Social Ports in the World
Spire, a satellite-data company that offers trade monitoring, asset tracking and general maritime domain awareness services, has delivered its 2015 Social Media Re-Port. The report provides a first-ever look into container ports’ social media activities, revealing how open and transparent our world’s ports are with their local communities.
By raising awareness around how ports create employment, implement technology, generate income, innovate, reduce poverty and develop and nurture economies, ports are able to establish a deeper connection with the public on the grounds of direct and indirect impact.
The report findings show that social engagement, in the form of providing further visibility into ongoing efforts, results in more Likes, Follows, Favorites, Comments, Retweets and Shares.
Here are the findings of Spire’s 2015 Social Media Re-Port:
Facebook is the preferred social media network among ports. About 50 percent of the world’s top 50 ports have Facebook accounts. While Port of Laem Chabang of Thailand boasts the most number of Likes on Facebook, Port of Metro Vancouver experiences the highest level of engagement with an average of 274 Likes per post.
The secret? Vancouver makes sure to post at least one photo accompanied by either a news announcement, project update, quiz or question every day around 1:00pm. One of the port’s recent and most popular posts asked users to share a fond memory of Canada Place, to which 33 users commented, 680 users liked, and 144 users shared.
Top 10 Ports on Facebook With Most Number of Likes:
Laem Chabang, Thailand - 150,290 Likes
Metro Vancouver, Canada - 25,758 Likes
Los Angeles, California, U.S. - 19,927 Likes
Long Beach, California, U.S. - 15,318 Likes
Jebel Ali, Dubai, United Arab Emirates - 11,521 Likes
Santos, Brazil - 8,791
Tanjung Priok, Jakarta, Indonesia - 6,204
Oakland, California, U.S. - 5,375
Antwerp, Belgium - 5,264
Colombo, Sri Lanka - 5,110
Many ports treat Twitter and Facebook in the same manner, confining tweets to announcements, interesting facts and local events. However, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which has the world’s biggest Twitter following (31,456) and tweets almost every day of the month, uses Twitter to regularly alert commuters and general travelers about ongoing construction, bridge activities and traffic delays, as well as the latest port-related news and stories. A tweet about the shipment of bananas promotes the port’s YouTube video and blog post about global trade.
Top 10 Ports on Twitter With the Most Followers:
New York-New Jersey, U.S. - 31,456 Followers
Long Beach, California, U.S. - 13,354 Followers
Los Angeles, California, U.S. - 11,074 Followers
Rotterdam, Netherlands - 8,872 Followers
Metro Vancouver, Canada - 8,211 Followers
Miami, Florida, US - 6,431 Followers
Tacoma, Virginia, U.S. - 5,780 Followers
Seattle, Washington, U.S. - 5,680 Followers
Antwerp, Belgium - 5,406 Followers
Norfolk, Virginia, U.S. - 4,785 Followers
YouTube
All ports try to focus on behind-the-scenes content that feature the respective port, its operations and the people involved. Port of Long Beach, which has the most YouTube subscribers (851), distinguishes itself from the rest by producing TV-ready content that is in the form of a 30-minute video program called Pulse of The Port. This news-like program not only airs on a local channel five times a week, but also lives on the port’s website and YouTube channel. The most highly viewed video on the port’s channel is a feature on how ship-to-shore gantry cranes operate.
Although the Port of Long Beach has the most subscribers, Port Authority of New York-New Jersey has the highest number of channel views (620,110) than any other port thanks to its video revealing the One World Observatory which has amassed over 197,831 views alone. On average, most port video views range in the tens of thousands.
Top 10 Ports on YouTube With the Most Subscribers:
Long Beach, California, U.S. - 851 Subscribers
Rotterdam, Netherlands - 743 Subscribers
New York-New Jersey, U.S. - 563 Subscribers
Metro Vancouver, Canada - 415 Subscribers
Los Angeles, California, U.S. - 316 Subscribers
Antwerp, Belgium - 248 Subscribers
Seattle, Washington U.S. - 247 Subscribers
Everglades, Florida, U.S. - 141 Subscribers
Jacksonville, Florida, U.S. - 78 Subscribers
Houston, Texas, U.S. - 76 Subscribers
Top 10 Ports on YouTube With the Most Channel Views:
New York-New Jersey, U.S. - 620,110 Views
Long Beach, California, U.S. - 450,127 Views
Metro Vancouver, Canada - 396,379 Views
Rotterdam, Netherlands - 378,502 Views
Antwerp, Belgium - 181,058 Views
Los Angeles, California, U.S. - 103,971 Views
Seattle, Washington U.S. - 86,173 Views
Everglades, Florida, U.S. - 60,854 Views
Jacksonville, Florida, U.S. - 40,962 Views
Houston, Texas, U.S. - 15,950 Views
Posting a scenic picture of cruise ships is not enough to take advantage of this visual platform. Port of Long Beach, which has the biggest base of Instagram followers (2,287) takes a hint from popular social media trends and uses hashtags like #ThrowbackThursday and #TriviaTuesday to engage and educate the public on the port’s unique history, as well as the U.S. economy. The port uploads an average of 18 pictures per month, and one of its recent trivia question about how many containers are lost per year gained 127 Likes.
Top 10 Ports on Instagram With the Most Followers:
Long Beach, California, U.S. - 2,287 Followers
Los Angeles, California, U.S. - 1,560 Followers
New York-New Jersey, U.S. - 625 Followers
Metro Vancouver, Canada - 451 Followers
Jebel Ali, Dubai, United Arab Emirates - 410 Followers
Antwerp, Belgium - 334 Followers
Laem Chabang, Thailand - 315 Followers
Norfolk, Virginia, U.S. - 269 Followers
Tanjung Pelepas, Malaysia - 235 Followers
Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. - 222 Followers
While only 22 percent of the world’s top 50 ports are on LinkedIn, Port of Rotterdam dedicates its page to business-specific content such as industry trade show interviews, construction plans and thought leadership articles. Although only posting on average three times per month, the established cadence of these materials has enabled Port of Rotterdam to gain the largest amount of LinkedIn followers (13,366). The port’s recent post about its construction plans to enable the distribution of a cleaner fuel alternative has yielded 137 Likes.
Top 10 Ports on LinkedIn With the Most Followers:
Rotterdam, Netherlands - 13,366 Followers
New York-New Jersey, U.S. - 11,939 Followers
Singapore, Singapore - 5,675 Followers
Seattle, Washington, U.S. - 4,869
Los Angeles, California, U.S. - 3,384 Followers
Long Beach, California, U.S. - 2,940 Followers
Metro Vancouver, Canada - 2,681 Followers
Houston, Texas, U.S. - 2,243 Followers
Jacksonville, Florida, U.S. - 1,872 Followers
Oakland, California, U.S. - 1,871 Followers
The 10 Most Social Ports in The World
Spire created its own ranking system to compile the list of the top 10 Most Social Ports. The ranking is based on a blend of various statistics such as the number of Followers, Likes, and posts, level of engagement, and presence on the different social media platforms. A complete index of social media rankings for the top 10 ports and how they fare against each other can be referenced in the table image.
Long Beach, California, U.S.
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
New York-New Jersey, U.S.
Metro Vancouver, Canada
Antwerp, Belgium
Seattle, Washington, U.S.
Jacksonville, Florida, U.S.
Laem Chabang, Thailand
Rotterdam, Netherlands
Singapore, Singapore
The industry’s dedication to educate the public highlights the growing importance of near-real-time communication and the unrecognized need for more information around what kind of activities take place around the globe.
